When I found Sid & Marty Kroffts Saturday Morning Hits DVD awhile back, I discovered that the studio produced more than just Land of the Lost, H.R. Pufnstuf, and The Bugaloos. It also produced quite a few other shows I never knew about before. One such series was Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976-1977).

Like caped crusaders Batman and Robin, Electra Woman (Deidre Hall) and young sidekick Dyna Girl (Judy Strangis) are superheroes who fight crime with technically advanced gadgets and go up against colorful super villains. It’s hard to believe that I never heard about this show before because it sounds too good to pass up.

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl’s identities are Lori and Judy, who are reporters for Newsmakers Magazine. Whenever on the trail of a hot scoop, they always end up finding trouble, which requires the aid of their superhero alter egos. Very little focuses on that part, which is good because it spares us the drama about the difficulties of leading double lives.

The superheroines’ only ally is scientist Frank Heflin (Norman Alden), who stays at the reclusive Electra Base and always keeps in contact to back them up. Since there are no back-stories revealed on any of the characters on this show, it’s hard to say how Frank got involved with the crime-fighting duo. On the other hand, every Batman needs an Alfred.

Since the series is not available on DVD or Netflix, I only managed to see a couple of episodes, each from a separate Best of Sid and Marty Krofft DVD/VHS release.

However, I did discover that Electra Woman and Dyna Girl have six archenemies, which include The Sorcerer (Michael Constantine), Empress of Evil (Claudette Nevins), Glitter Rock (John Mark Robinson), Spider Lady (Tiffany Bolling), The Pharaoh (Peter Mark Richman), and Ali Baba (Malachi Throne).

They each have a partner in crime to match his or her image. Did you know that Sid Haig played the Genie, who works with Ali Baba?

I met Sid Haig at Cult Fiction Drive-In 2011.

One thing that concerns me about this show is that there are no actual fight scenes. The superhero action is completely confined to the heroines shooting laser beams from their ElectroComs, or using their gravity control to either float upward or land smoothly. I realize that stunts for fight scenes were different for women back in the old days, but come on. In the Batman series from the 60s, Batgirl was allowed to kick bad guys in the head. Couldn’t these ladies have at least been given that opportunity?

It’s not a total loss though. Electra Woman and Dyna Girl often end up in creative traps set up by the villain(s), but manage to find a way to escape at the last moment. On top of that, a Narrator (Marvin Miller) provides commentary to make things appear more exciting. However, it’s very brief and has hardly any personality behind it.

This was an interesting series. Despite the lack of actual crime fighting action, who wouldn’t find a couple of hot super heroines in tights interesting?